The satellite, which carries the first Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument, arrived in French Guiana in mid-June and has since undergone weeks of testing, fuelling and integration with its launch adapter. The encapsulation inside the rocket fairing ends all hands-on work with the spacecraft until it reaches orbit.
“I’ve been working on this mission since 2012 and managed the development and build of this satellite over the past two years, so this moment is especially poignant,” said Marc Loiselet, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) MetOp-SG project manager. “None of us will actually see the satellite – the fairing will not be opened until three minutes 30 seconds after lift-off as MetOp-SG is taken into orbit around Earth.”
The 800-kilogram fuel load will power MetOp-SG-A1 into its polar orbit, where it will deliver global atmospheric data for weather forecasting and climate monitoring. The mission will extend and enhance the work of the original MetOp satellites, offering greater accuracy, improved resolution and new measurement capabilities.
From here, teams will focus on monitoring the satellite’s environment inside the fairing and running final system checks ahead of launch. “From this point on we monitor the satellite’s environment inside the protective fairing and perform checks to ensure we can configure and monitor the satellite on launch day,” said Nick Goody, ESA’s MetOp-SG-A1 launch campaign manager. “The excitement for launch is building day by day now.”
MetOp-SG is a joint program between ESA and Eumetsat and will consist of three pairs of satellites – an A type and B type in each pair – flying in complementary roles over more than 20 years. MetOp-SG-A1 carries six instruments, including the European Commission’s Copernicus Sentinel-5 spectrometer, which builds on the success of the Sentinel-5 Precursor mission.
Sentinel-5 will deliver daily global measurements of key air pollutants, essential climate variables and stratospheric ozone. “Encapsulation in the rocket fairing also marks an important milestone for Sentinel-5 of course, and we too bid farewell to this new instrument – and now our focus is very much on the launch next week,” said ESA’s Sentinel-5 project manager, Didier Martin.
The launch will be followed next year by its partner satellite MetOp-SG-B1, with the combined fleet ensuring Europe maintains its leadership in global weather observation and atmospheric monitoring well into the 2040s.